‘An Aria for the Mallard’ is a finalist for the PRIX RUSSOLO 2026

‘An Aria for the Mallard’, by Rosana Antolí, with music and sound art by electroacoustic composer Jorge Ramos, has been selected as one of eight finalists for the PRIX RUSSOLO 2026, from a total of 208 submissions.

The annual prize recognises some of the most significant international works in electroacoustic composition. As a finalist, ‘An Aria for the Mallard’ will now feature in a tour of international festivals and cultural venues until the end of 2026, when the prize winner and the Audience Award will be announced.

Created for the Gulbenkian Foundation’s South Garden, the work reimagines the aria as a space for encounter between human expression and the more-than-human world. At the heart of the installation is a floating corten steel sculpture in the lake, which functions both as a visual score and as a resonant body, blending discreetly into the surrounding ecosystem.

The composition combines electroacoustic textures, field recordings and the voice of soprano Claire Rocha Santos, creating a soundscape in which human and non-human voices merge into a continuous chorus. Rather than representing nature, the work proposes attentive listening to the garden as an active collaborator, inviting the public to experience the space as a living, interconnected system.

The result of a collaboration between visual artist Rosana Antolí, composer Jorge Ramos and soprano Claire Rocha Santos, the installation brings sound, sculpture and ecology together in an immersive reflection on coexistence, interdependence and the fragile balances that shape shared spaces.